[sacw] SACW #1 | 15 Mar. 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire - Dispatch #1 | 15 March 2002

* For daily news updates & citizens initiatives in post riots=20
Gujarat Check: http://www.sabrang.com
** Also see new information & analysis section on the recent Communal=20
Riots in Gujarat on the SACW web site: http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/

__________________________

#1. The Gujarat Tragedy: A letter to India's Prime Minister by=20
Admiral L Ramdas [ Former Chief of the Indan Navy]
#2. DEMOCRACY BY NUMBERS (Vinay Gidwani)
#3. Social Science to Social Forensic - Autopsy of a Riot (Dipankar Gupta)
#4. Keep the Injustice and Horror of Gujarat Alive ! - Update March 14, 2=
002
(Teesta Setalvad, Fr Cedric Prakash, Wilfred DeSouza Carnage in=20
Gujarat: Citizens' Initiative for Justice & Peace)
#5. The Hindu hurricane The Gujarat violence was the product of=20
middle-class rage. Now the fundamentalists threaten Ayodhya (Randeep=20
Ramesh)
#6. Appeal: As an Indian citizen I request the leaders who claim to=20
represent the Muslims and the Hindus to actively work towards peace;=20
to hear my/our voice that is against bloodshed and intimidation; to=20
stick to their words in the future and not shame us, once again, by=20
breaking their promises.
#7. Public Lecture - The Gender Politics of Hindu Nationalism by=20
Amrita Basu (March 15)

__________________________

# 1.

[Camp California USA]

11 March 2002

THE GUJARAT TRAGEDY

It is indeed with a heavy heart that I write to my Prime Minister at=20
this time. The recent happenings in Gujarat have completely shaken=20
my confidence in the Government and its capacity to uphold and=20
protect a democratic and secular India.

Growing up in Delhi as a young boy, the senseless slaughter of=20
innocent human beings in 1947 are still vivid in my mind. To see the=20
same happen once again in the year 2002 has been shattering .The=20
entire nation is shocked at the callousness and inefficiency=20
displayed by the law and order machinery of the Government of=20
Gujarat, which not only failed to perform its duty to its citizens,=20
but also stood by and in several cases actually incited what can best=20
be described as a 'pogrom'. Compare this to the scene indelibly=20
imprinted on my mind, when I saw Mr Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister=20
of India, hop out of an official car and chase away looters and=20
rioters, who were killing Muslims and looting their properties in=20
Connaught Place in August 1947. He had the courage to intervene=20
personally at that time completely disregarding his own safety.

The democratic and secular traditions of India have been severely=20
endangered by the recent events. In addition, the carnage in Gujarat=20
has created an increasingly negative image of India among people in=20
many parts of the world. Clearly this appears to be the culmination=20
of a planned series of attacks on our minority communities by the=20
extremists within the Sangh Parivar. The entire list is too long to=20
cite here, but to name only a few, the past decade has witnessed the=20
destruction of the Babri Masjid in 1992, which led to the Mumbai bomb=20
blasts and the subsequent massacre of innocent Muslims; the burning=20
alive of Father Staines and his sons in Orissa; and the attacks on=20
Christians and their places of worship in Gujarat and elsewhere. Till=20
today none of those responsible for these acts have been brought to=20
book. It would therefore appear that the government is not serious=20
about bringing the guilty to trial, which is emboldening them to do=20
what they have done in Gujarat.

I am also pained to observe that judging from newspaper reports no=20
one of any stature from the central government has so far visited the=20
affected areas to sympathise with the victims of Gujarat. The media=20
has reported that even in the allocation of compensation for those=20
killed, the Chief Minister of Gujarat has thought it fit to=20
discriminate between the two communities. If true, this is=20
unacceptable and needs to be rectified immediately.

I joined the Navy at the age of fifteen after appearing before a=20
Selection Board just a few months after Independence. My growth in=20
the Navy has coincided with that of the country and I rose to head=20
the Indian Navy from 1990.to 1993. We have had many distinguished=20
servicemen from the minority communities who have reached the highest=20
ranks in the service.

To name a few: Field Marshal Manekshaw, Marshal of the Air Force,=20
Arjan Singh, Air Chief Marshal Idris Latif, Admirals Cursetji,=20
Pereira and Dawson - all Chiefs of the Indian Navy; the Keelor=20
brothers of the Air Force who both won the Mahavir Chakra; Brigadier=20
Usman, decorated posthumously with the Mahavir Chakra, Lance Naik=20
Albert Ekka - Param Vir Chakra (posthumous), and men like my own=20
steward, M.Ali, who served me faithfully while I was commanding INS=20
Beas in the 1971 operations .

The Indian Armed Forces have always been one of the strongest=20
pillars of our secular democracy. They have maintained their=20
political neutrality and have respected civil authority since=20
Independence despite trends to the contrary in our immediate=20
neighbourhood. They represent a micro-cosm of the diversity of India=20
which has always been its strength. Over the years India has=20
witnessed the steady process of communalization and politicization of=20
our bureaucracy and the police. It would be a tragedy indeed if these=20
processes were to affect the armed forces of this land. This could=20
herald a potentially disastrous and unmanageable situation where our=20
uniformed personnel could find themselves in opposing camps with all=20
its attendant dangers.

Our nation has evolved over the past many thousand years due to the=20
contribution of all sections of society irrespective of their=20
religion, caste or creed. India has always had the courage and the=20
self-confidence to provide all people with the space to co-exist in=20
peace with one another. The present attempts in some quarters to=20
give it an exclusively `Hindu' image is to do a grave injustice to=20
our composite history and heritage. If SIMI could be banned, I see no=20
difficulty in doing likewise for the groups like the VHP,Bajrang Dal=20
and others whose acts of wanton violence are no less offensive, anti=20
national and anti people.

The stated intention of the VHP to go ahead with its plans at=20
Ayodhya on March 15th are ominous indeed. The government must=20
intervene immediately to ensure that the planned `symbolic' Bhoomi=20
Puja does not take place. Permitting this now would only lend weight=20
to any subsequent claim for commencing construction of the temple. I=20
would therefore urge that all parties await the decision of the=20
Supreme Court about the entire case.

In order to demonstrate our will to uphold our Constitution I would=20
recommend the following actions by the Government :

1. Constitute a Commission of Enquiry by a Bench of=20
three sitting judges from the Supreme Court of India to look into the=20
entire sequence of events beginning with the tragedy on the train to=20
the subsequent massacre of minorities in Gujarat.

2. Bring to book all the guilty persons including=20
politicians, bureaucrats and police personnel who have been directly=20
responsible for dereliction of duty.

3. Dismiss Shri Mody as Chief Minister of Gujarat=20
for his hand in the ethnic cleansing he has orchestrated and impose=20
Presidents Rule in the State.

4. Ban extremist rightwing organizations like the=20
VHP, Bajrang Dal , and the RSS as has been done with SIMI.

5. The planned Bhoomi Puja should not be permitted in Ayod=
hya

6. Set up refugee camps immediately for those who=20
have been dispossessed and initiate a rehabilitation programme that=20
provides neccessary resources, including issue of ration card, to all=20
those displaced from their homes.

7. Compensation to the families of all victims=20
should be equitable without any discrimination on the basis of=20
community.

As a former Chief of the Indian Navy, and as a concerned citizen, I=20
can no longer remain a silent observer of what is tantamount to=20
ethnic cleansing and genocide of our own people. I urge you to steer=20
the nation firmly away from the path of extremism and fundamentalism=20
of all shades.

I have been frank in expressing my views because this is a moment of=20
collective shame and anguish for all of us who call ourselves Indians=20
. Although, I would have preferred to be able to share my concerns=20
with you in person, I am currently on a lecture tour in the USA and=20
unable to call on you.

As the leader of the world's largest democracy and as a man gifted=20
with reason and vision, you are in a position to make a difference.=20
I sincerely hope that you will.

With Highest Regards,

Sincerely Yours

L.Ramdas

Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee
Prime Minister
New Delhi - 110011

______

#2.

DEMOCRACY BY NUMBERS

Vinay Gidwani
University of Minnesota

"Situation returning to normalcy in Gujarat=8A" drones a news headline.=20
Normalcy. A measure of central tendency. The sanitized average that=20
staunches the unruly ooze of deviations. Seven hundred and fifty=20
human beings, Muslims and Hindus - but mostly Muslims - are dead.=20
Burnt alive. The mobs that lit bonfires of the living in the name of=20
religion and the impassive spectators and neighbours who watched have=20
now dispersed. Thanks to the unflagging effort of Gujarat's highest=20
elected official. "Where was the delay? I restored sanity in a=20
record 72 hours," says Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat.=20
This is sanity? Perhaps it is. To a man who has lost his=20
conscience, who represents a majority with no soul. After all, the=20
brute average that underwrites a democracy by numbers is normalcy.=20
The will of people must be respected. Don't take my word for it.=20
Listen to Hareshbhai Bhatt, Vice-President of the Bajrang Dal,=20
protector of the "people's will": "There was no rioting. This was an=20
expression of the way the majority community has felt. For years,=20
Hindus have been pushed around." Did he hire arsonists to restore=20
the will of the people, to soothe their suffering sense of=20
subjugation at the hands of a Muslim community that ranks last=20
nationally in terms of per capita wealth, income, education? "We=20
have our ways. But it all revolves around Hindu anger." Normalcy is=20
freedom to murder without consequences. After all, isn't the job of=20
the courts and the police to ensure the greatest good - justice and=20
security - for the greatest numbers? Utilitarianism is nothing if=20
not the philosophy par excellence of the demos. The minorities=20
ruffle the average, they strain at the central tendency - at=20
Hindu-ness, Islamic-ness, Christian-ness, white-ness, native-ness,=20
you name it. Democracy by numbers tidies the distribution by purging=20
pesky outliers. In the past, however, we have called this worship of=20
majoritarian sentiment by its kindred name: fascism.

Ehsan Jaffrey, two weeks ago Member of the Legislative Assembly of=20
Gujarat, is now a pile of charred remains, along with several family=20
members and Muslim residents of Gulbarg Society, Ahmedabad. He moved=20
to the Chamanpura locality not to escape the majority - not to live=20
in the ghetto that is the lived geography of fascism - but, rather,=20
to live with ordinary people like him, who were, yes, Hindus by birth=20
but in every other respect no different. So he thought. So says=20
Zakia Naseen, his widow. Ehsan Jaffrey believed - in retrospect, one=20
has to say naively - that because he saw his Hindu neighbours as=20
friends and acquaintances, not as anonymous inhabitants of the=20
reified "majority," they too would see him, care for him, protect=20
him, as Ehsan Jaffrey, and not abandon him to the mob - as they did,=20
on February 28, 2002 - as a Muslim. He could have - perhaps should=20
have - expected that from the police, from politicians, from courts=20
that serve the majoritarian will. He could not - should not - have=20
expected that from friends and neighbours. But, then, the fault is=20
his. He failed to comprehend the impassive logic of normalcy, which=20
has no place for individuality, for relationships, for difference; no=20
place for Ehsan Jaffreys, only room for the majority sentiment and=20
well-behaved Minorities who respect the central tendency. =
=20

Middle-class Gujaratis called friends on cellphones to come merry in=20
the pickings as Muslim businesses on C.G. Road, Ahmedabad, were=20
systematically looted and their owners dispatched with an efficiency=20
that is certain to inspire the neoliberal economist, Deepak Lal, to=20
re-assess his thesis on the endemic inefficiencies of Hindu India.=20
These well-bred middle-class Gujaratis, proud stalwarts of Hindutva,=20
were simply aiding the central tendency, were they not, by=20
normalizing the population?=20

Ayub Qureishi, recently resident of Naroda-Patiya on the outskirts of=20
Ahmedabad, is one of those fortunate Muslims who survived the pogrom.=20
He can now enjoy the fabulous sum of 100,000 rupees for each family=20
member killed that the Government of Gujarat, in its unending=20
benevolence, has assessed as proper compensation for "affected"=20
members of the minority (members of the majority "affected" by the=20
horror at Godhra will receive 2,00,000 rupees per family member=20
killed). Spared by the random mercies of the mob, Ayub can look=20
forward to his large cache of money and an endless cache of time to=20
re-live memories of his seven-year old daughter and a five-year old=20
son roasted alive - now that the "situation is returning to normalcy=20
in Gujarat=8A"=20=20=20=20=20=20

Welcome to the democracy by numbers. Only those with deference to=20
the popular will allowed. Dissenters will be summarily removed, at=20
their expense.

_____

#3.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=3D3705521
Autopsy of a Riot
DIPANKAR GUPTA

[ THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2002 1:21:00 AM ]

Social Science to Social Forensic

TWO days before kar sevaks were attacked in the
Sabarmati Express near Godhra, Jan Morcha, a little
known daily from Uttar Pradesh, reported how Muslims
were harassed by Bajrang Dal activists on the same
train but heading in the opposite direction towards
Faizabad.

This incident allegedly took place on February 24 and
duly appeared in Jan Morcha on the following day.
According to this report, Muslims in this train were
beaten with iron rods, many Muslim women had the veils
of their burqas ripped off, and even children were not
spared.

Apparently, the harassment and intimidation of Muslims
were at their height between Dariawad and Ridauli
stations, that is, as the train was entering the
environs of Ayodhya. Narendra Modi=EDs statement
explaining away the carnage in Gujarat following the
Godhra incident in terms of action and reaction gets a
credible ring as the earlier incident around Faizabad
was largely ignored in the national press. This is not
to argue that two wrongs, or three (as in this case),
make a right, but that neither Newton=EDs law, nor
social science can really explain a riot.

By talking about action and reaction Mr Modi adroitly
dodged the issue of political responsibility. But
recourse to schoolboy science, including social
science, more often than not, misses the main points
of a riot completely. The killings of Sikhs in 1984
and the Bombay carnage of 1993 have proved, if proof
indeed was necessary, that riots do not happen because
social sentiments overflow normal bounds and move
otherwise reasonable people to indulge in murder and
mayhem. Instead of a social science analysis we rather
need an autopsy of a riot. If such an autopsy were to
be conducted it would become abundantly clear that
riots are created by interested organisations that
have the tacit, or active, support of the government
in power.

A social science analysis of a riot can go off on a
tangent. It might suggest that there are certain
classes that are situationally more predisposed
towards violence. It might also make the claim that
there is an inherent and irreconcilable animosity
between cow worshippers and beef eaters. To be
anti-Muslim or anti-Sikh, or anti-Hindu is one thing,
but to actually seek the hated other with blunt and
sharp objects or with petrol bombs is quite another.

There is a qualitative difference between the two.
Riots do not occur because of structural imperatives,
or social compulsions. Nor do they happen because mass
sentiments just cannot take humiliations any more.
Riots need, as a necessary condition, organisations
that plot mass killings with governmental support. The
job of social forensic is to uncover such conspiracies
and to expose the accused. Only a determined and
dogged social forensic investigation can tell us about
the most interesting and pertinent facts of a riot.
The analysis of class structure, or occupational
profile, or even historical memory, can hardly
enlighten us as to who were the actual perpetrators of
a riot. We have no option but to rely on social
forensics if we want to know who paid money to whom
for doing what, and which government officials and
representatives protected the rioters, who actually
pulled back the police, and who delayed calling in the
army? Instance after instance can be cited in this
regard to demonstrate the relevance of social
forensics. Apart from the Sikh killings and the Bombay
blasts one can think of the Bhiwandi riots, the Meerut
massacres, the killings of Christians, the Ayodhya
bloodlettings, and the list can go on.

Why should the recent Gujarat carnage be any
different?

When Shiv Sainiks went to make the Bhiwandi riots
everybody knew what was going to happen. They boarded
trucks in Mumbai, armed with rods and cycle chains,
openly announcing their intentions. They all looked
like a happy bunch out for a Sunday picnic.

They knew very well, each and every one of them, that
the government of the day was solidly behind them.
This is the all-important fact behind a riot and it is
only social forensics that can help us to grasp it. To
bring in concepts of social science at a time like
this can act as a smokescreen and provide an escape
route for those who are guilty. We might even be
tempted to believe that the fault is not that of the
rioters and the conspirators, but of society itself.

There are then three theses of social forensics. The
first, and the most obvious, one is that riots do not
just happen, they are created. There are organisations
that have a definite interest in fomenting riots but
they need the active support of the government.
Without this support a riot would never graduate
beyond a skirmish. The second thesis of social
forensics is that sectarians on one side desperately
need sectarians on the other side.

A sectarian can do without a friend but is helpless
and inarticulate without a good enemy. Bal Thackeray
began his political career by targeting South Indians
in Mumbai. Unfortunately, South Indians in this
metropolis did not oblige the Sainiks by being good
enemies. They learnt Marathi, identified with local
festivals, and had no hesitation in putting up
Shivaji=EDs portrait and lacing it with incense fumes.
This is what pressured the Shiv Sena to cast the
communists and Muslims as prime targets. The
communists lived up to their billing for roughly two
and a half decades. But with trade unions in a
shambles and Russia a distant memory they lost their
good enemy status. Only the Muslims were left, and
after 1984 the Shiv Sena has concentrated almost
exclusively on them.

The third thesis of social forensics is that there is
a great difference between those who die for a cause
and those who kill for a cause. Social sciences are
useful to understand factors that lead people to
sacrifice their lives for a larger common good.

This is why we have some excellent sociological
treatises on mobilisations spurred by the ideals of
nationalism, communism and cultural identity. But when
people are ready to kill for a cause, as in a riot, it
is plain skullduggery at the highest quarters which is
responsible. The interests in this case are very
narrow, as any autopsy of a riot will show. When a
riot happens it is because the killers know that no
harm is going to come to them. If they had the
slightest fear that they might not come home, that
they might be in jail, even killed, they would never
have ventured out. This is why only social forensics
is relevant for conducting the autopsy of a riot.

______

#4.

Carnage in Gujarat: Citizens' Initiative for Justice & Peace
Update March 14, 2002
Keep the Injustice and Horror of Gujarat Alive !

Teesta Setalvad Fr Cedric Prakash=20
Wilfred DeSouza
=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20
Our updates were interrupted for a few days due to the overwhelming=20
pressures caused by both exhaustion and the continued unabated=20
violence in the far-flung reaches of rural Gujarat especially Baroda=20
rural segments. From the evening of Monday March 11,02 sustained=20
attacks by adivasis instigated by venomous print and audio visual=20
propaganda distributed in large numbers by the VHP and Bajrang Dal=20
succeeded in driving out all Muslims from the villages of Panvad,=20
Kamvat and Tejgadh Displaces persons are seeking shelter in the small=20
town of ChhotaUdaipur and every day calls from panic-striken=20
residents are terrified of an attack on them in the town. Of the=20
local residents that total 45,000, 12,000 belong to the Muslim=20
minority. By now, there are already 2,000 persons in the relief camps=20
in ChhotaUdaipur.

Migration has also taken place from the town of Mehsana where there=20
has been widespread destruction and it is reported that as many as=20
15,000 persons are heading towards Juhapura in the old city of=20
Ahmedabad. This means additional strain on the camps already located=20
there and the need for tents and other materials. We will keep you=20
updated on the developments there.

Elected representatives of the BJP within Ahmedabad flanked by the=20
VHP and BD leaders leading gangs have been spotted spreading more=20
terror and fear in both Ahmedabad and Baroda. There is great=20
apprehension given the fact that the VHP, apparently peeved by the SC=20
stand banning any form of worship at the site of the Babri Masjid, is=20
likely to foment greater and greater tension on the ground. A brittle=20
and brutalised Gujarat, yet to come to terms with the sheer expanse=20
and extent of the brutality of the pre-mediated violence inflicted on=20
an innocent citizenry is incapable of dealing with more pogromed=20
violence and terror. All of us within and outside, individuals and=20
groups, need to sustain our efforts at protests, at projection ---=20
keeping the injustice and horror of Gujarat alive in the specific=20
context of bringing the guilty to book and punishing of the guilty.

The issues that the Gujarat State Sponsored Genocide Raises are:
State and Government Sponsored Pogrom Against Minorities;
Violence of a Brutal and Most De- Humanised Kind on Men, Women and Children=
;
Sustained and Systematic Economic Destruction of Minority Businesses=20
and Properties Across Gujarat;
The Use of a Full Time Trained Militia for Destruction, Physical,=20
Mental and Psychological;
Destruction of Religious Places of Worship and Durgahs, which are=20
shrines of syncretic worship;

We need to Demand

Dismissal of Chief Minister, Narendra Modi who classifies as a=20
mass murder and his criminal prosecution on a speedy basis under=20
Indian law;
Reparation for the Destruction of Life and Property to the Muslim=20
Minority by the State and Organisations like the BJP/VHP and Bajrang=20
Dal on a priority basis;
Relief and Rehabilitation with Dignity and Security to all the=20
Survivors on a priority basis;
Dismissal from Positions and subsequent Prosecution of All=20
Politicians, Government Servants and Policemen responsible for=20
dereliction of duty in perpetrating the violence or failing to=20
protect the victims

We need to write sustained protests on Gujarat to the President of=20
India, Shri Narayanan, the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, the=20
Home Minister, L.K.Advani, and the International Community. We attach=20
below a list of addresses to which these protests may be addressed.

Yesterday, that is on Wednesday, a petition pressing for the=20
postponement of the Gujarat State Board examinations was moved in the=20
Gujarat High Court at Ahmedabad. It is a measure of the fear=20
psychosis that has led many of us to define the political situation a=20
the arrival of fascism that the Chief Justice of the Court refused to=20
hear the matter and referred it to another bench in the afternoon.=20
Finally, orders have been passed to postpone the examinations and=20
today a further clarification will be sort from the Court to ensure=20
that a second date for exams is set for those children dislocated=20
seriously.

Meanwhile, while a fair amount of relief has been obtained for=20
distribution within Ahmedabad, the camps located in smaller towns=20
where displaced persons from villages completely destroyed have=20
arrived or the ones located at small village sites themselves are in=20
dire need of relief. We have been keeping close touch with many of=20
these locales and are for the purposes of disseminating relief to=20
these places, enclosing a list of such camps and sites along with=20
contact numbers. We are unfortunately unable to take direct=20
responsibility for the disbursal of funds and any of the=20
technicalities related to this. So we can -disseminate authentic=20
information and urge that you make a phone call, crosscheck for=20
yourself and thereafter make your decision.

It was unanimously decided to make a universal and public demand on=20
the official Commission that has been announced by the State=20
Government through legal interventions. These are:

To reject the appointment of a local Judge and demand that due to=20
the extent of breakdown of the constitutional machinery of the=20
State a diverse and representative team of Supreme Court Judges be=20
appointed to conduct the inquiry;
That the terms of the Commission be made powerful;
That the State commits itself to accepting the recommendations.

In addition, a People's Judicial Commission of Inquiry with a time=20
frame of a few months and a series of other interventions have been=20
worked out and will be initiated shortly.

Another writ on the conditions of Relief Camps and Demands that=20
Security be provided to persons living in Relief Camps is being=20
drafted in the Supreme Court

Relief
On the issue of relief and rehabilitation, of no less than 50,000=20
displaced persons within Ahmedabad alone, we need to make a concerted=20
demand on the following issues:

Bare necessities like food, clothing and temporary shelter have=20
not reached several of the camps on the outskirts of Ahmedabad,
Tin sheets in large numbers are needed to make temporary shelters,
=B7 Every day, bodies I a dismembered and unidentifiable state are=20
being recovered from different parts of Gujarat. It is important that=20
the Army goes, with some community leaders among Muslims, to recover=20
these bodies and give them a dignified burial,
The issue of rehabilitation on government land with constructed=20
homes is looming large especially as in many areas persons are not=20
willing to go back. Relocation without sensitivity and examination=20
can however be mindless as locations of communities have more to do=20
with economic reasons, the sources of livelihood rather than any=20
other; urgent attention needs to be paid to the matter
Civil society groups need to ensure that ration cards or=20
photo-passes are issued afresh and swiftly for all inmates of relief=20
camps. If this is not done there is a real danger that the State,=20
which has already displayed a blatantly partisan and fascist role,=20
will tomorrow actually rob these residents of Ahmedabad their basic=20
right, that of citizenship.
All groups working in these areas, and there are many, need to pay=20
special attention to assisting eyewitnesses and survivors registering=20
FIRs promptly.
The State government needs to provide on a mass basis bore wells=20
to the Muslim peasants of the State who have already been targeted=20
and their bore wells destroyed.

Please join our campaign for speedy and meaningful relief and=20
rehabilitation by faxing the above mentioned demands to:

K. Subha Rao, Chief Secretary
Government of Gujarat, Gandhinagar
Fax: 079-3250305

K.R. Narayanan
The President of India
Rashtrapati Bhavan
New Delhi 110004
Fax 91-011-3017290

Justice S.P. Bharucha,
The Chief Justice
The Supreme Court of India,
Tilak Marg,
New Delhi 110001.

Atal Behari Vajpayee
Prime Minister of India
7, Safdarjung Road,
New Delhi 110001.

L.K.Advani
Home Minister of India
Ministry of Home Affairs,Govt of India
Gruh Mantralaya,
New Delhi 110001
Fax- 91-011-3015729

We are attaching here a detailed list of Relief Camps and Urge you,=20
one and All to get in touch with them directly:

Anand District

1. Anand Zakariya Naya Vatan
Contact person: Mr. Ismail Sarodi
Ph: 0269252993
Persons: 500

2. Anand Nutan Nagar
Contact person: Mr. Salimbhai Engineer
Ph: 0269259202
Persons: 3200

3. Kohinoor
Contact person: Mr. Mohammed Sharifbhai Ismailbhai
Ph: 0269252030
Persons: 500

4. Masjide Inaam
Contact person: Mr. Hafez Iqbal
Ph: mobile-9825138400
Persons: 450

5. Napad
Contact person: Mr. Sayeed Khan Thakur
Ph: 0269283516
Persons: 600

6. Napa Bacchon ka Ghar
Contact person: Mr. Kazi Maulana Ismail
Ph: 0269683626
Persons: 700

7. Bhalez
Contact person: Master Saburiya
Ph: 0269286467
Persons: 700

8. Aumrath
Contact person: Mr. Keriwala Ghulam Ahmed
Ph: 0269276110
Persons: 1200

9. Surali
Contact person: Mr. Farid Khan Zabaru Khan Pathan
Ph: 0269287126
Persons: 800

10. Ravali
Contact person: Mr. Mannubhai
Ph: 0269747599
Persons: 600

11. Borsad
Contact person: Mr. Supariwala
Ph: 026920323
Persons: 1200

12. Sogitra
Contact person: Mr. Haji Abdul Patiwala
Ph: 0269734515
Persons: 2000

13. Tarapur
Contact person: Mr. Idrish Davawala
Ph: 0269855526
Persons: 400

14. Petlad
Contact person: Mr. Ibrahimbhai Vora
Ph: (PP) 0269751702
Persons: 1800

15. Amklav
Contact person: Mr. Mufti Ayub Saheeb
Ph: 0269682751
Persons: 500

16. Khutez
Contact person: Mr. Maulana Irfan
Ph: 026886674
Persons: 400

17. Changa
Contact person: Mr. Abdul bhai Rasul bhai
Ph: 92747595
Persons: 100

18. Dhuleta
Contact person: Mr. B. J. Malik
Ph: 0269277150
Persons: 150

Kheda District=20

1. Hazi Abdul Masjid M. Vora
Ph: 0269422052/22686
=AE 0269424151

2. Nadiyad Vora Ismail bhai Ramolwala
Ph: 026850234

3. Mahemadavad Vora Kasam bhai Valasanwala
Ph: 0269444806
Voragani bhai
Ph: 0269444165
Sati bhai Mansuri
Ph: 0269444105
Persons: 600-700

4. Thasara Vora Usman bhai Talkiswala
Ph: 0269923242

5. Sugitra Haji Abdullah Patiwala
Ph: 0269734515
Mufti Illyas
Ph: 0269734285
Persons: 1200-1500

6. Petlad Vora Ibrahim Pandoliwala
Ph: 0269752156
Allahrakha Molvi
Ph: 0269752690
Persons: 200-300

7. Aanklav Sikandaraj
Ph: 0269682751
Persons: 150-200=20

_____

#5.

The Guardian,
Thursday March 14, 2002

The Hindu hurricane
The Gujarat violence was the product of middle-class rage. Now the=20
fundamentalists threaten Ayodhya

Randeep Ramesh

Belief in the absolute is difficult to argue against. That which is=20
considered fundamental to a culture cannot be easily challenged. So=20
how did Hinduism - a creed with no holy book, day, leader, heresy or=20
single omnipotent deity and which is recognisable only by its=20
plurality - manage to become such a powerful tool for chauvinists in=20
India? The question may be posed innocuously now but later this week=20
it may receive a bloody answer.

Tomorrow thousands of young men and women of the Vishwa Hindu=20
Parishad (VHP) or World Hindu Council will descend on Ayodhya in=20
northern India to perform religious rites in a place where two=20
ancient civilisations meet. They do so in order to provoke India's=20
140 million Muslims and little will dissuade them, certainly not=20
pleas of restraint from government ministers or the supreme court=20
which yesterday ordered the puja (prayer) ceremony to be banned.=20
Certainly not the appalling images of Gujurati neighbourhoods set=20
alight, mothers and children burnt, trains attacked and passengers=20
slaughtered in the intra- religious violence of the past few weeks.=20
Certainly not the army or the police who are charged with preventing=20
violence in Ayodhya but did too little, too late in Gujurat. And=20
certainly not the notion that India's democracy is in danger from=20
extremism.

For these fundamentalists, Ayodhya is the birthplace of Lord Ram, a=20
Hindu heroic warrior-god. Unfortunately, it was also the spot of=20
another Indian religious symbol - the Babri Masjid, a mosque=20
supposedly built by Moghul emperor Babur in the 16th century. In 1992=20
a collection of Hindu revivalists decided that the mosque was another=20
example of the Hindu majority prostrating itself before the country's=20
minorities in the name of secularism. The mosque was demolished,=20
reviving the campaign for a temple to replace it.

"Minority rule" is a powerful, deadly image in modern-day India,=20
where the issue was first propagated and then exploited by Hindu=20
nationalist politicians. It is enough to drive well-educated,=20
well-off people in the fastest growing state in India, Gujurat, to=20
kill their neighbours. A Muslim lit the first spark - by setting fire=20
to a train carriage full of Hindus - and hundreds of innocent Muslims=20
lost their lives in violent reprisals. Gujurat has a 70% literacy=20
rate - well above the national average, it has twice the per capita=20
GDP of India and with just 6% of the country's population it accounts=20
for 16% of its total exports. But as police commissioner Prashant=20
Chandra Pande, in Gujurat's capital Ahmedabad, admitted after the=20
carnage: "The people responsible for all this come from the better=20
sections of society. Many of them are educated. They are ostensibly=20
honest and decent. But this did not stop them."

How did this madness grip the Hindu middle class? The roots of rage=20
stem from their feelings of powerlessness. They thought no one was=20
properly representing the interests of the well-off. They became=20
increasingly disillusioned with the Congress party of Jawaharlal=20
Nehru and Mahathma Gandhi, which saw India as socialist, secular and=20
multicultural. But Congress's economic policies failed to deliver,=20
and corruption stifled the country. India produced a dynasty, not a=20
democracy. Indira Gandhi flirted with dictatorship in the 1970s - a=20
time which people recall, without irony, as memorable because the=20
trains ran on time.

Real politics returned with a vengeance in the 1980s. Anyone visiting=20
India would have felt the gusts of wind that eventually became a=20
Hindu hurricane. India's supposedly secular politicians overturned a=20
court decision concerning an elderly Muslim woman who won a divorce=20
case, for fear of antagonising Islam. Is she a citizen of a=20
theocratic state, wondered Hindus? The dreadful reply was the=20
destruction of the Ayodhya mosque which thrust the nationalist=20
Bharatiya Janata party into the mainstream.

But the BJP has had an uneasy relationship with power and had to pay=20
a high price for building a coalition government with secular=20
political partners. Now the VHP thinks politics has marginalised=20
religion - despite the detonation of a "Hindu" nuclear bomb and the=20
agitation by BJP ministers to rewrite history books from a Hindu=20
viewpoint.

If fundamentalism gets its way in Ayodhya, the VHP might want to tear=20
down the mosques in Mathura (said to be the birthplace of Hindu deity=20
Krishna) or Kashi (in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi). The VHP does=20
not seem to care if the BJP-led government falls in the process. The=20
two squabbling siblings, born of an even darker, militaristic body=20
that produced Gandhi's assassin, are engaged in a fight for the right=20
to represent Hinduism. But India itself is proving too big a place=20
for any single religion, however pervasive, to dominate. The BJP has=20
lost its regional power bases and smaller parties, mostly based on=20
ethnicity, language and geography, are exerting themselves. India=20
needs a unifying political project. But as the recent violence shows,=20
Hinduism alone will not provide salvation for India.

_____

#6.

From: "Zeba Imam"

MY VOICE

Dear friend

In all the posturing that the fringe Hindu and Muslim organizations=20
are carrying on these days there is a third voice that is not heard=20
at all. The voice of a common Indian citizen, who is an Indian first=20
and a Muslim or a Hindu later. Someone who holds peace as more=20
valuable then a piece of land or a Mandir or a Masjid. Who is=20
sickened by the violence let loose in the name of religion. Who=20
believes that the powers involved in keeping the Mandir/Masjid issue=20
alive have absolutely no interest in development and have no concern=20
for the plight of common citizens. At a time when the economy is in=20
recession it is deplorable that the country is being kept occupied=20
with non-issues. Worse still life and property is being lost further=20
weakening the country economically

And this is what I have to say:

I as an Indian citizen want to take a strong pro-peace stand. I do=20
believe that the whole Ayodhya issue is an attempt to keep us=20
distracted from real issues that are dragging our country towards=20
disaster.

Instead of communal issues, I would rather discuss the lack of=20
development, poverty, the position of women, the condition of=20
children and lack of education in our country.

I condemn every organization that is trying to get political mileage=20
out of the issue.

I, as an Indian citizen want it to be known that I do not want to=20
play any part in this communal politics.

That the Ayodhya issue is not my issue and I condemn every=20
organization that is raking up sentiments around this non-issue and=20
creating an atmosphere of hate and distrust

I condemn every organization that wants us to believe that just=20
because some people belong to a different faith they should be=20
treated as second-class citizens and isolated economically and=20
socially. This is a sentiment that is completely against our national=20
consciousness.

For me the situation in Ayodhya is an issue of law and order where a=20
group is openly threatening to break the law by disobeying the=20
highest court of the land. I feel it is entirely the responsibility=20
of the government and the law machinery to enforce the law of the=20
land and as such it has nothing to do with me or my religion.

I believe it's high time the government took that responsibility=20
instead of engaging the so-called representatives of either community=20
in a dialogue. I'm against any negotiations that defeat the law of=20
our country

I do not give any religious leader or a group the right to represent=20
my voice and my sentiments in favour of any lawless act.

As an Indian citizen I request the leaders who claim to represent the=20
Muslims and the Hindus to actively work towards peace; to hear my/our=20
voice that is against bloodshed and intimidation; to stick to their=20
words in the future and not shame us, once again, by breaking their=20
promises.

A CONCERNED CITIZEN.

If you agree with the appeal and want this voice to be heard please=20
take some time out and send this mail to as many people as you can=20
and also to the IDs of journalists given below.

Feel free to mail it to any leaders, journalists, news channels, and=20
newspapers that you know of. By sending this mail to news papers,=20
news channels and our politicians we'll be able to proove the numbers=20
that believe in this point of view

<mailto:sharads@z...>sharads@z...
kidwain@y... (Jain TV)
inews@z...
<mailto:Vicky@n...>Vicky@n...
<mailto:baj@n...>baj@n...
<mailto:rajeshsundaram@h...>rajeshsundaram@h...
<mailto:ambikanand@y...>ambikanand@y...
<mailto:pugalias@z...>pugalias@z...
outlook@o...
post@a...

_____

#7.

The Women's Studies Certificate Program
and the Center for the Study of Women and Society
at The Graduate School and University Center, CUNY
present:

The Gender Politics of Hindu Nationalism
by
Amrita Basu,
Political Science and Women and Gender Studies, Amherst College
Director of the Five College Women's Studies Research Center

Friday, March 15, 2002
1:00 - 3:00 PM
Room 9206-9207,
365 Fifth Avenue (between 34th & 35th) [New York City]

Co-Sponsored by Continuing Education and Public Programs

--=20
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